On Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers played the Oklahoma City Thunder (at home) in California.
The Lakers lost by a score of 123-87.
Despite the Lakers dealing with a lot of injuries, Deandre Ayton finished with just three points, three rebounds and one block while shooting 1/4 from the field in 23 minutes of playing time.
JJ Redick Makes Blunt Deandre Ayton Statement
After the game, JJ Redick was asked about Ayton (h/t Underdog NBA).
Redick: “He’s had trouble catching the ball… We’ve ran a bunch of plays for him. He’s just had trouble catching the ball.”
Ayton is in the middle of his first season playing for the Lakers.
He had come into the night with averages of 12.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per contest while shooting 67.2% from the field in 68 games.
Ayton’s NBA Background
Ayton was the first pick in the 2018 NBA Draft after one season of college basketball at Arizona.
He spent the first five years of his career playing for the Phoenix Suns.
In 2021, Ayton helped lead the franchise to the NBA Finals.
Ayton then played two seasons for the Portland Trail Blazer before signing with the Lakers.
His career averages are 15.8 points, 10.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 blocks per contest while shooting 59.8% from the field in 466 games.
So far, the 27-year-old has had an up-and-down tenure in Los Angeles.
Lakers After Latest Loss
The Lakers have had an excellent season, but they have lost all of their momentum after injuries to Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic.
With their loss to OKC, they dropped to 50-29 in 79 games, which has them as the fourth seed in the Western Conference.
Currently, the Lakers are in the middle of a three-game losing streak (and 6-4 over their last ten).
On Thursday night, they will resume action when they visit Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center in San Francisco.
JJ Redick Makes Blunt Deandre Ayton Statement After Thunder-Lakers Game